R4D Malawi

Development Research Centre for the Future State (Research Scheme R8490) Annual Report 1 July 2008 30 June 2009

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:40:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Institute of Development Studies 2009 73 pp.

Progress on the 3 programmes is reported:

1.Public Action and Private Investment
Progress has been steady. Key activities/achievements have included the PAPI 2009 cross cutting workshop attended by representatives of all the major projects. This workshop was also attended by Max Everest Phillips (DfID) and representatives from the Africa Power and Politics RPC and the Institutions for Pro Poor Growth RPC. Closer ties with these RPCs which carry out research in similar themes have been highlighted as having great potential to deepen the research and analysis and vastly improve quality through knowledge sharing activities.

The field research on the 'China's investment in Africa' project was completed and work has now entered a new phase. This project has received a lot of attention from the academic and policy making community. Jing Gu the lead researcher has been highly active in presenting her work and publications are being finalised. Additional funding for this project was recently obtained for the work to continue.

There has been good progress in the Egypt project with a number of publications in the final stages of writing or publication. The projects in Indonesia and Brazil have now been completed with outputs coming from both. The work on particularistic property rights regimes in China is nearing completion. There has been fair progress in the Vietnam project; research partners have been formally identified. With regret the research in Pakistan cannot be completed.

A new project due for completion in March 2010 will attempt to bring some of the key findings of the programme into two publications to answer the core question.

2.Collective Action around Service Delivery (Social Accountability)
Despite good performance as reported in last year's report Modes of Service Delivery in Brazil, India and Mexico (BIM) has experienced some setbacks. It has been formally agreed that Mexico can no longer form part of the project as no researcher of suitable ability could be identified who would be willing to finish the work. There have been some problems with writing up from some of the India researchers, many of whom are younger academics in their early careers. This has led to some delays. Brazil continues to perform well. Despite these setbacks there have been some major achievements especially in the communication of research findings at conferences.

3.State Capacity, Financing the State and Informal Local Governance
Comprising three key research themes (State Capacity, Financing the State and Informal Local Governance), programme three has progressed well over the last year.

There have been some major movements in the taxation work, mainly in communication efforts. The multi country study into the resource curse in Andean countries started and is now nearing completion.

Work into Informal Local Governance institutions has progressed adequately and there is possibility of funding one further stage of work. The multi-country study into donor proliferation in Africa was completed and a research proposal submitted to other funders for follow up work.

Africa Power & Politics. Annual Report 2 (2008-9)

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:44:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2009 38 pp.

Progress is being made in all 4 areas of the programme:

Research

the empirical scope of the programme has been refined and the work has been organised in six firmly led 'research streams';
initial thinking about research approaches (concepts, methods) has been carried into the streams, so that it frames the empirical work;
fieldwork has begun, in teams of various sizes, in 11 African countries;
the programme has started engaging actively with researchers working on cognate topics in other research programmes.

Research-training

research training of five fully-funded fieldwork-based PhD candidates has been overseen;
a number of additional doctoral students have been associated with the programme; and
tailor-made short practical training exercises and/or 'collective enquiries' (preliminary joint fieldwork exercises which serve training objectives) have been mounted.

Organisational capacity strengthening

staff and associates of all member organisations drawn into a relatively high-grade discussion about how to link empirical enquiry, theoretical innovation and policy implications;
this has been applied in specific research streams, with African researchers participating to some extent in training and research activities in countries other than their own;
relevant and accessible library and information resources have been provided to the Southern organisations; and
major investments have been made in the communications and policy engagement capacities of two Southern partner organisations.

Policy influence and policy development.
The APPP's approach to policy influence and policy development has been developed in a revised updated Communication and Policy Engagement Strategy, key elements of which were implemented in Year 2. They include:

a reinforced communications team with clearer roles and responsibilities;
training sessions, workshops and investment in technical equipment;
construction of an 'APPP friends' database;
engagement with key stakeholders to prepare the ground for adoption of policy lessons based on research findings; and
development of the APPP website to provide improved access to the programme's web-published papers, news and events.

Non-typhoidal salmonella bacteraemia among HIV-infected Malawian adults: high mortality and frequent recrudescence.

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:04:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Gordon, M.A.; Banda, H.T.; Gondwe, M.; Gordon, S.B.; Boeree, M.J.; Walsh, A.L.; Corkill, J.E.; Hart, C.A.; Gilks, C.F.; Molyneux, M.E. 2002 AIDS (2002) Volume 16, Issue 12, pp. 1633-1641. Objective: Non-typhoidal salmonella (NTS) bacteraemia is a common, recurrent illness in HIV-infected African adults. We aimed to describe the presentation and outcome of NTS bacteraemia, the pattern of recurrence, and to determine whether recurrence results from re-infection or recrudescence. Design: One hundred consecutive adult inpatients with NTS bacteraemia in Blantyre, Malawi, were treated with chloramphenicol. Survivors were prospectively followed to detect bacteraemic recurrence. Methods: Index and recurrent isolates were typed by antibiogram, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and plasmid analysis to distinguish recrudescence from re-infection. Results: Inpatient mortality was 47%, and 1-year mortality was 77%. A total of 77 out of 78 cases were HIV positive. Anaemia was associated with inpatient death, and several features of AIDS were associated with poor outpatient survival. Among survivors, 43% (19/44) had a first recurrence of NTS bacteraemia at 23186 days. Among these, 26% (5/19) developed multiple recurrences up to 245 days. No recurrence was seen after 245 days, despite follow-up for up to 609 days (median 214). Suppurative infections were not found at presentation, and were only seen twice at recurrence. Index and recurrent paired isolates were identical by phenotyping and genotyping, consistent with recrudescence, rather than re-infection. Conclusion: NTS bacteraemia has a high mortality (47%) and recurrence (43%) rate in HIV-infected African adults. Recurrence is caused by recrudescence rather than reinfection. As focal infections were rarely found, recrudescence may often be a consequence of intracellular tissue sequestration. There is an urgent need for improved primary treatment and secondary prophylaxis in Africa.

Exploring the broader use of Community Therapeutic Care

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:32:00 GMT

Current High levels of poverty, food security, childhood illness and HIV/AIDS combine to increase the risk of malnutrition, which is associated with more than 50% of childhood deaths. Services to treat severe acute malnutrition in many areas of the developing world are often not able to reach those most in need and have failed to achieve a sustainable impact. To produce and disseminate evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of CTC in multiple contexts through research, programme development and documentation of best practice.

This proposal aims to achieve outputs as follows:

A. Substantial evidence of where CTC is appropriate and how to maximize its effectiveness
1. CTC will be the internationally accepted approach and practice for a nutrition response in humanitarian emergencies and will be incorporated into policy and programme documents of international, national and local institutions and organisations
2. Evidence will be generated to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of integrating CTC within primary health care services as part of emergency preparedness and disaster mitigation, as well as treatment of severe malnutrition in non-emergency/development context as demonstrated by increased number of MOH-run integrated CTC programmes.
3. Refined CTC models for different country contexts (e.g. conflict, disaster preparedness/mitigation, HIV/AIDs, development) incorporated into policies and programmes in five (5) target countries at national, regional and district levels

B. Improved, affordable therapeutic products available for use in CTC programmes
1. Credible published evidence that local recipe RUTFs made from local crops are as effective as Plumpynut® in promoting recovery from acute malnutrition.
2. Locally produced RUTF integrated into new and ongoing CTC programmes thereby increasing stability of supply and eliminating cost of RUTF importation.
3. Alternative compositions of Ready to Use Supplementary Foods (RUSF) developed and proved to be effective
4. A growing body of evidence of the effectiveness of RUTF consumption on the rehabilitation of severe acute malnutrition in PLWHA
5. Evidence of the effectiveness of the addition of Synbiotic to RUTF in promoting recovery and decreases mortality and morbidity in acute malnutrition and HIV/AIDS.

C. Dissemination of results/best practices and expanded capacity to implement CTC
1. Broad dissemination of CTC best practices through national and international training and workshops
2. Key international and national organisations involved in translating results into policies and practice
3. Cadre of health professionals trained in CTC implementation in target countries

TARGETS Annual Report 2006-2007

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:04:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2007 24 pp. This report covers the period June 2006 to May 2007. Information on research themes, outputs and knowledge dissemination is provided. Annexes give the Logical Framework, Communications Strategy, Products and Publications, and Risk Assessment Matrix

Are intestinal helminths a risk factor for non-typhoidal Salmonella bacteraemia in adults in Africa who are seropositive for HIV? A casecontrol study.

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:25:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Dowling, J. J.; Whitty, C. J. M.; Chaponda, M.; Munthali, C.; Zijlstra, E. E.; Gilks, C. F.; Squire, S. B.; Gordon, M. A. 2002 Annals of Tropical Medicine & Parasitology (2002) vol. 96, no. 2, pp. 203208 [DOI: 10.1179/000349802125000277] In Africa, invasive, non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) infections are a common but life-threatening complication in adults who are seropositive for HIV. The high prevalence of human infection with intestinal helminths which penetrate the gut could explain the greater importance of NTS bacteraemia in Africa compared with that in industrialized countries. If helminth infection is a major risk factor for NTS it would provide a locally relevant, public-health target. A study was conducted at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi in 2 phases: between November 1998 and June 1999, and between May and August 2000. Intestinal helminth carriage in 57 HIV-positive patients with NTS bacteraemia (the cases) was compared with that in 162 HIV-positive controls who were similar to the cases in terms of age, sex, urban dwelling and socioeconomic factors. The prevalence of helminth infection, 29% overall, was lower among the cases (18%) than among the controls (33%), giving a crude odds ratio of 0.40 (with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.21-0.9) and an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 0.79 (CI=0.4-1.8). Five (9%) of the cases and 12 (7%) of the controls were infected with nematodes which penetrate the gut (Ascaris lumbricoides and/or Strongyloides stercoralis). The aOR for infection with these penetrating worms, corrected for age, sex, urban dwelling and phase of study, was 1.40 (CI=0.4-4.5). The present results do not exclude the possibility that helminths play a role in invasive NTS infections, but are not consistent with helminths being a sufficient risk factor in this population to be a public-health target. Anthelmintics are unlikely to have a major impact on preventing NTS bacteraemia in patients diagnosed HIV-positive in Africa.

Addressing the balance of burden in AIDS research programme consortium (ABBA RPC). Annual report, project year 3, June 2008 - May 2009

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:20:00 GMT

Miscellaneous ABBA 2009 86 pp. The report summarizes information on outputs produced so far, the impact of the research programme to date, progress towards outputs and impact of key themes, and lessons learnt.

Towards 4+5 Research Programme Consortium: Strategic research to inform policy on maternal and newborn care.

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:25:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Towards 4+5 Research Programme Consortium 2009 This poster introduces the Towards 4+5 Research Programme Consortium, describes its main research themes, and briefly describes 5 examples of its research projects.

IPPG News: June 2009

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:29:00 GMT

Miscellaneous IPPG 2009 IPPG, IDPM, School of Environment & Development, Manchester, UK, 4 pp. This issue features the work of IPPG PhD students, presents recent news from IPPG projects, and highlights recent events and publications.

Quality assessment of sputum transportation, smear preparation and AFB microscopy in a rural district in Malawi.

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:04:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Mundy, C. J. F.; Harries, A. D.; Banerjee, A.; Salaniponi, F. M.; Gilks, C. F.; Squire, S. B. 2002 The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (2002) Volume 6, Number 1, pp. 47-54. SETTING: Ntcheu District, Central Region of Malawi. OBJECTIVES: To assess 1) the feasibility of introducing simple internal quality control procedures for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) microscopy for the diagnosis of tuberculosis and 2) the quality of the district sputum smear microscopy service. DESIGN: A simple internal quality control system was piloted in which district laboratory staff assessed: 1) specimen suitability, 2) time between sputum submission and smear examination, 3) smear preparation and staining, and 4) microscopy. Actual times for processing specimens were compared with recommended times. External quality validation was carried out. RESULTS: Of 4805 sputum specimens: 1) documentation was complete in 95%, 2) 93% reached the laboratory within 7 days of collection, 3) 96% of smears were well prepared and stained, and 4) 97% concordance (96.4% smear-positive and 97.6% smear-negative) was demonstrated when 208 smears were re-examined by a second technician. The aggregate index of reliability was 86%. The mean time spent on microscopic examination was 3.8 minutes, compared with the recommended time of 10 minutes. When all smears from 164 patients were assessed externally, 98.2% concordance (98.1% smear-positive and 98.2% smear-negative) was demonstrated. False smear-negative and smear-positive rates were less than 2% each. CONCLUSION: District laboratory staff were able to incorporate simple quality control procedures for AFB microscopy into their routine practice, resulting in a reliable service. The lessons learnt are widely relevant and potentially useful for implementation of a national quality assurance scheme.

Use of clinical judgement to guide administration of blood transfusions in Malawi

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:39:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Bates, I.; Mundy, C.; Pendame, R.; Kadewele, G.; Gilks, C.; Squire, S. 2001 Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (2001) Volume 95, Issue 5, pp. 510-512 [doi:10.1016/S0035-9203(01)90022-7]. The aim of this study was to investigate whether clinicians in Malawi could use clinical judgement alone to administer blood transfusions in accordance with guidelines. Clinicians at a district hospital did not use the Lovibond Comparator haemoglobin results provided by their laboratory as they felt them to be unreliable, preferring instead to rely on their clinical judgement alone to guide transfusion practice. Their transfusion practice and the Lovibond haemoglobin results were monitored against the World Health Organization recommended haemiglobincyanide method for haemoglobin measurement without the clinicians having access to this result. The Lovibond Comparator method was shown to have a sensitivity of only 21% to detect trigger haemoglobin values for transfusion published in local guidelines. Without access to a useful haemoglobin result, clinicians gave 67% of transfusions in accordance with the haemoglobin trigger values in the guidelines. This study shows that clinical features alone can provide a reasonable guide about the need for transfusion, and that poor quality laboratory tests limit the effectiveness of transfusion guidelines.

Agriculture on-air

Thu, 21 May 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Recorded by Africans for Africans, the DFID-funded AGFAX monthly radio service, now in its 15th year, provides the latest information on agricultural and rural development to agricultural broadcasters and, through them, to millions of listeners across Africa

Strengthening Health Research in Africa

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:00:00 GMT

In February 2009, the Health Research Capacity Strengthening (HRCS) initiative was launched. HRCS aims to strengthen the capacity of key academic research and health policy-making institutions in Kenya and Malawi to generate new scientific knowledge. It is funded in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada

Does the Media Help or Harm in Potentially Divisive Elections?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:00:00 GMT

The BBC World Service Trust has launched a new unit for policy advisors to help understand the role that the press can have during elections as the role of media in elections - sometimes negative, sometimes positive - is becoming an increasingly key governance issue

Helping African Scientists to talk to the media

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:00:00 GMT

In order to sustain positive relationships between researchers and the media, the DFID-funded Relay programme in Southern Africa has formalized their relationship with research institutes

African Initiative Launched to Strengthen Health Research

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Health research in Africa has received an important boost through DFID, Welcome Trust and IDRC support for two funding bodies, established through the Health Research Capacity Strengthening initiative. The two organisations, based in Kenya and Malawi, will implement nationally-owned strategies aimed at strengthening health research capacity in their respective countries

Many Poor Countries Will Suffer as Climate Change Damages Fisheries

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:00:00 GMT

A new DFID-funded study is the first to identify national economies that are likely to suffer most as climate change imperils fisheries. Research on fisheries worldwide warns that climate change combined with fisheries dependency and limited capacity to adapt pose a dangerous triple threat to countries in Africa, South America, and Asia

Tropical forests in poverty alleviation: from household data to global-comparative analysis

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:53:00 GMT

Current Forests are important to the rural livelihoods of poor people in developing countries. But due to the paucity of quality data on rural household economies in the tropics and sub-tropics, we know very little about just how important forests are, for what specific purposes they primarily serve, and for how many people forests are vital assets. This impedes the design of effective strategies for forest-based poverty alleviation. This project aims to fill these serious empirical gaps by using a uniform methodology to gather high-quality primary household data in about 25 sites with tropics-wide coverage. The global data bank (5-6000 households) with complete annualized income information and other economic and non-economic data will be used for a global-comparative analysis of forest-poverty linkages in rural household economies. Our goal is to analyse the general importance of various forest types in different aspects of rural livelihoods, identify major causes of geographical variation, and point to tangible options for interventions that actively enhance forest-based poverty alleviation. Specifically, we will test for hypotheses related to the alleged pro-poor role of market integration and of collective forest mangement at the local level. The data will also enable tests of broader microeconomic hypotheses regarding the role of natural resources in rural livelihoods, e.g. to what extent natural resources serve as seasonal gap-fillers, as safety nets in response to shocks, and as means of accumulating assets that eventually can lift people out of poverty. The project is integrated into the Poverty and Environment Network (PEN), coordinated by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). PEN is an ongoing collaborative research effort between CIFOR, a network of PhD students, and external experts from ten universities including the University of East Anglia. PEN data collection is already advanced; we thus seek financial support over a three-year period mainly to establish a global data bank, to undertake the global-comparative data analysis, and to carry out synthesis & dissemination work. Research results will be communicated through a variety of media to the main intended beneficiaries that include academia, donors, multilaterals, and policy makers at different levels. The primary project objective is:
I. To undertake a comprehensive global-comparative analysis of the role of forests and environmental income in preventing and reducing rural poverty, built on a centrally coordinated pan-tropical data bank with high-quality primary household and village data collected though PEN (research outputs);
The secondary project objectives are:
II. To elaborate recommendations for tangible forest-poverty interventions, and feed them into national and global policy processes (policy impacts);
III. To enhance the ability of project partners in using best-practice methods for conducting income-accounting rural household surveys, and to suggest improved research methodologies for future studies of environmental incomes and rural livelihoods (capacity building and methodological innovation).

Health Research Capacity Strengthening Initiative (HRCSI) in Malawi and Learning Project Component

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:08:00 GMT

Current HRCS will build local capacity to commission, do and use high-quality research that addresses the health needs of Malawi.

Provide enhanced institutional capacity for high-quality multidisciplinary health-related research (e.g. grants for research training as well as district based operational research).
Ensure that national health policies and programmes are formulated utilising research findings (e.g. support for formulation of national research agendas).
Ensure that scientific knowledge is more effectively shared across international organisations and knowledge networks (e.g. support for research collaborations, training in communication skills).
Improve the regulation and coordination of the national research environment (e.g. support for national bioethical review processes).
Share organizational learning relevant to wider work on research capacity development.

Malawi although only up and running since October 2008 LATH and NRCM have made good ground in such a short space of time e.g. Health research Guidelines drafted, TA's interviewed & in post, and the first calls for grants expected soon. The National Research Council of Malawi now (wef May 2009) under the auspices of the National Commission for Science & Technology.

New research identifies shortcomings in Malawi's land reform plans

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:00:00 GMT

New research from the Research Programme Consortium on Improving Institutions for Pro-Poor Growth (IPPG), funded by DFID, has found serious shortcomings in Malawi's plans for land reforms.

Supporting science journalism in Africa and the Middle East

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:00:00 GMT

A dozen new teams of science journalists from different countries across Africa and the Middle East trained through the DFID-funded SjCOOP Programme are collaborating on science related stories

Encouraging growth in Africa's seed industry

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:00:00 GMT

The DFID-supported programme providing business development services to small and medium-sized seed companies is helping to transform Africa's growing seed industry

Health Research Capacity Strengthening Initiative: Kenya and Learning Project Components

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:32:00 GMT

Current HRCS will build local capacity to commission, do and use high-quality research that addresses the health needs of Kenya and:

enhance the quality of health interventions in Kenya through the formulation and use of evidence-based policies.
strengthen institutional capacity to conduct and coordinate health research and to improve its use in evidence-based policy formulation, decision-making and healthcare delivery.

The Kenya initiative has been running through IDRC since Feb 2008. Progress, particularly on spending, has been very slow. The initial ground work has now been laid and the project is now beginning to move. It's now a case of getting into mechanics of what and what's not required. CNHR are now fully manned and being supported by the Incubation team/IDRC.

Improved utilisation of Tamarind and Baobab: manuals for non-literate farmers

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:45:00 GMT

Completed Training manuals were prepared to help provide non-literate and semi-literate farmers in Ghana and Malawi with new skills in the utilisation, processing and marketing of fruit and leaves from two important local tree species, Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and Baobab (Adansonia digitata). This project relates to R6072 and R7187.

Planning workshop on medicinal bark in South Africa

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:27:00 GMT

Completed A multi-country workshop on developing biometric sampling systems and optimal harvesting methods for medicinal tree bark in southern Africa was held in South Africa, Zambia and Malawi. This initiative formed the basis of a larger regional research cluster (R8295, R8305).

African Community Access Programme (AFCAP)

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:49:00 GMT

Current AFCAP funds applied research to rural access problems, communicates the research outcomes to stakeholders, and supports the mainstreaming of the research results into practice. A six-month inception phase was completed in December; projects are now in operation or in planning in several sub-Saharan African countries.

Programme Goal: Sustained economic development, poverty reduction and improved livelihoods of the rural poor through more effective, efficient and equitable access to socio-economic opportunities (employment, healthcare, education, etc.).

Programme Purpose: To create sustainable access for rural communities to external opportunities and services (including health, education, employment, markets and social and political networks).

Best practice on Rural Roads Technology mainstreamed in Africa
Evidence of impact of appropriate rural road technology disseminated
Sustainable ownership mechanisms for construction and maintenance of local road systems
Knowledge and research capacity in Africa improved and key knowledge disseminated and adopted
Status of improving access to basic infrastructure for poor in Africa reviewed and further developed

AFCAP has made substantial progress in establishing a robust research programme for the rural transport sector in Africa. National co-ordinators have been appointed in Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya, national steering groups have been identified, initial projects have been developed, and contractors for these projects are being procured.

Discussed with International Institute of Water and Environment Engineering of Ouagadougou University possible development of a short course for rural road engineering. There is potential to collaborate with KNUST in Ghana and the opportunity to offer course material across the French West African region.

Letters of Agreement have now been secured with the governments of Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya. AFCAP is supporting study tours for the Ethiopian Road Authority and a strategic planning workshop in Tanzania.

Financing primary health care

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:00:00 GMT

id21 insights health #12 explores the challenges facing donors and national governments in providing and financing primary health care for all

SecureWater: Building sustainable livelihoods for the poor into demand responsive approaches. Inception phase.

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:58:00 GMT

Completed This research project will bring together two development approaches in order to achieve more sustainable poverty elimination through water supply improvements. A sustainable livelihoods (SL) framework (see http://www.odi.org.uk/ rpeg/srls/html) - to understand the nature of poverty at a household level and best practices for its elimination - will be used to inform and assist in the move towards more demand-responsive approaches (DRA) in water supply development. A need for better understanding of the water-poverty links has been highlighted in recent years in the increasing focus on poverty elimination amongst many ESAs and national governments. The challenge is to build a better understanding into the work of all participants involved in water supply development. Of particular importance is how to assist in the development of water for productive purposes at a household level, a key to which is understanding how and where water is used as part of natural capital in the livelihood strategies of poor households, thus understanding demand properly in order to respond to it. Understanding this micro-level use of water entails achieving a holistic understanding mirrored at a higher level by the recent global emphasis on integrated water resources development at the basin level. Hitherto, water supply has been closely linked to the achievement of health benefits through its integration with sanitation and hygiene promotion. Whilst the importance of this integrated approach is acknowledged, its limitations in terms of addressing broader water-livelihoods linkages in understanding at household-level are recognised. Significant issues surrounding sanitation and livelihoods will be a subsidiary focus of this research. To increase understanding anong interveners in the water sector of water livelihoods links, enhancing their capacity to eliminate poverty in demand responsive approaches. A concept paper, incorporating literature review.

An inception report, incorporating research methodology framework, collaborative arrangements and dissemination plan.

Five case studies on water and livelihoods, and one on sanitation and livelihoods in an urban context, in versions adapted for different capacity building contexts.

Sustainable livelihoods-based tools developed for decision-support, monitoring and demand assessment tools to contribute to pro-poor sectoral decision making.

Forum established for institutional collaboration to develop sustainable financing mechanisms and appropriate technological choice for poor communities.

Dissemination of research findings, tools, training materials, through broadcast video, electronic media, journals oriented to interveners as well as to the research community.

Young Aids Migrants in Southern Africa: Dissemination

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:43:00 GMT

Completed To work with NGOs and communities to develop practical strategies for the support of young aids migrants and to disseminate these strategies internationally through the development of a training manual.

Power and Politics in Africa

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:16:00 GMT

Current There is growing recognition that in low-income Africa the way power is exercised needs to change if widespread poverty reduction is to be achieved. This is supported by a well established general analysis of African states. But existing knowledge is of limited practical use. It does not tell us which types of hybrid formal-informal power structures may be capable of providing "good enough governance" and which are irremediably anti-developmental. This knowledge is essential because developmental states have invariably emerged out of neopatrimonial ones, and within contemporary Africa there is significant variation in outcomes across places, times and institutional spheres. We hypothesise that there is scope for reforms that work "with the grain" of the prevailing (often corrupt) practices to mitigate their most negative consequences and harness unexpected strengths. We propose a systematic study of this issue, based on intensive case studies and linked survey work in a range of African countries. This is proposed as part of an integrated programme, combining 1) research, 2) research training, 3) organisational capacity strengthening, and 4) policy influence and policy development. The research will be carried out in a way that helps to create constituencies for the needed changes in thinking and practice

Improving urban transport accessibility for the disabled

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:00:00 GMT

A compendium of guidelines and standards is produced for improving the access of disabled people to transport services in urban areas.

Launching Research into Use: enabling the poor to benefit from research

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:00:00 GMT

A multi-million pound DFID-funded programme that aims to maximise the poverty-reducing impact of previous research on natural resources has been launched in Johannesburg

FarmLime - sourcing low cost lime for small-scale farming

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 01:00:00 GMT

Agricultural lime is a farming input taken for granted in many countries; however this does not hold true in less-developed regions such as sub-Saharan Africa

Africa: the role of research

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 01:00:00 GMT

Research is tackling the problems faced by people in Africa in many areas including health, agriculture and climate change

Poverty and reduced access to treatment of TB

Tue, 09 May 2006 01:00:00 GMT

EQUI-TB Programme research finds the poor and vulnerable in Malawi, Zambia and China have reduced access to vital services

TB and HIV: Fighting a Dual Epidemic in Africa

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 01:00:00 GMT

The ProTest project, reducing the impact of TB and other HIV-related illnesses on the community...

Finding New Approaches to Teacher Education in Developing Countries

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 01:00:00 GMT

Recommendations have been made for training teachers with limited resources...